The Mustangs needed the extra cushion. Barbers Hill scored three in the seventh inning and had the tying run on deck when Lamar Consolidated ended it, winning 5-3 to clinch the Region III-4A semifinal series.

"We've been leaving guys on base all series, and actually all playoffs we've done it," said Lamar Consolidated coach Phil Schwartz, whose team will face Montgomery in the region final. "We've stranded runners and it was really big to get those last few runs because we knew they weren't going to go down easy."

Barbers Hill stranded a runner at third in the top of the first, while the Mustangs jumped on an erratic Kyle Leggett (three walks and two hit batsman Saturday) in the bottom half. With two on and one out, Leggett worked for a ground ball, but instead of it resulting in a double play, the throw to first ended up in Barbers Hills' dugout.

The error scored one run, and Daniel Hinz followed with a run-scoring double.

Using a slider that ran away from righthanded hitters, Menefee ended four of his six innings on strikeouts. That included a fifth inning when Barbers Hill loaded the bases with two outs.

"There's no better feeling than striking that last guy out and leaving them there," Menefee said. "I was throwing my slider full count, 3-0 - I could throw my slider whenever I wanted."

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